by Victor Franco, Staff Writer
The Men’s Soccer team ended their season in an unexpected playoff match against Marist, the first seed in the conference, on Nov. 2. The Jaspers lost 3-1 to make their final MAAC record 4-5-1 and overall season record 6-9-2.
The team knew Marist would be a tough opponent, so the objective was to give their all on the field.
“It was really sad for everyone because our expectation was so high about that game,” said Ronaldo Da Silva, a senior defender.
The Jaspers held their own in the first half, keeping the score tied at zero despite the Red Foxes outshooting them nine to zero.
“I think the first half we did well, we kept the ball on possession, but unfortunately the second-half some mistakes were made that we put on our- selves more than anything,” said junior defender Justin Pierre.
This season the team has was able to complete a season with over 30 players, unlike the 2020 season where the team had difficulties keeping a full roster due to Covid-19. Pierre was able to observe the change from Covid-19.
“Luckily with the numbers that we have in our team, I think a lot of guys were able to step up and face crucial roles,” said Pierre.
Pierre said that the season had many turns as all of the players were trying to get a feel for being fully back on campus and having ten new players to build chemistry with.
“We didn’t do as well as we wanted and kept running on loses,” said Pierre. “Luckily we were able to find momentum later in the season starting with the win against Canisius.”
Manhattan ended a four game losing streak with a win against Canisus College on Oct. 10. The game proved to be influential for the rest of their season, as the team won the following two games and pro- duced a steady increase in wins for the overall season.
The win also resulted in the team recognizing their shortcomings and improve upon them.
Coach Jorden Scott said that traveling on the road for games tends to af fect the team’s performance.
“The toughest part of our schedule is then we go two weeks on the road,” Scott said.
Only one of the Jaspers six wins for the season were played on an away field. Senior Captain Brandon Joseph-Buadi has a few theories on why the Jaspers struggle during away competitions.
“I can’t give a clear answer to why we have struggled,” said Buadi. “It could be a variety of reasons such as work rate during the game, preparation before a game, or focusing too much on our opponent instead of ourselves. I can’t point to one thing but in my opinion, it’s a mix of all of that.”
Throughout the season the team has been able to grow and communicate better with one another. Da Silva describes that although he wasn’t able to play in all matches, being on the out- side made him learn a lot about the sport.
“I felt like I can understand the game so much more, and now I feel better prepared for the next season,” said Da Silva.
Pierre believes that the team has the potential to im- prove a lot for next season. “Definitely the biggest thing to improve is finding those chances in the final third and creating a lot of goal scoring opportunities” As for his position in Defense, he believes that the team held up defensively against other teams.
Although the season did not turn out how the team wanted, it provided ever yone a learning experience, but also memorable times with team- mates. Pierre and Da Silva shared their favorite memory of the season with the Quadrangle, and both held the same opinion, which was the team’s win over Monmouth. During the 2020 season, Manhattan was defeated by Monmouth 5-0, but this 2021 season Man- hattan came out victorious with a 2-1 win.
“Winning against Monmouth away on their turf, on their Senior Day has been my favorite memory. To come back this season and face of f again and make a statement that we were there to show up that day meant a lot.”